Who are the best and worst presidents? How historians ranked them in new C-SPAN survey
When it comes to leadership qualities, there’s one U.S. president historians put above the rest: Abraham Lincoln.
The 16th president came out on top in C-SPAN’s new presidential historians ranking — a spot he’s held since C-SPAN started doing the survey in 2000, conducting it after each administration change.
The 2021 rankings, released Wednesday, are based on responses from 142 historians, professors and “professional observers of the presidency,” C-SPAN says.
These historians scored each president on a scale of 1 to 10 for qualities of presidential leadership: public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with Congress, vision and agenda-setting, pursuance of equal justice for all and performance in the context of the times they were in power.
Each of the presidents’ total scores were then used to determine their rank. Here’s who fell among the top and the bottom and how the currently living former presidents stacked up.
Who was among the top
Lincoln’s total score of 897 earned him the top spot. He scored highest for his performance within the context of the times, 96.5 out of 100, followed by his vision and agenda setting and crisis leadership, both of which scored a 96.4. He also scored high on moral authority, earning a 95.2
Lincoln, elected in 1861, led the country through the Civil War and in 1863 issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which “declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.” He was assassinated in April 1865.
The nation’s first president, George Washington, came in second with a score of 851. His strongest leadership quality was also performance within the context of the times, earning him a 95.6. He also scored high on vision and agenda setting, 93.1, and moral authority, 92.7.
Franklin D. Roosevelt came in third with a score of 841. His strongest quality was public persuasion, 94.8, followed by vision and setting an agenda, 92, and crisis leadership, 91.6.
The 32nd president took office at the height of the Great Depression and is known in part for his New Deal, a series of programs and reforms to promote economic recovery. He also signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935 and led the country through most of World War II.
Rounding out the top 10 are Theodore Roosevelt with a score of 785, Dwight Eisenhower with a score of 734, Harry Truman with a score of 713, Thomas Jefferson with a score of 704, John F. Kennedy with a score of 699, Ronald Reagan with a score of 681 and Barack Obama with a score of 664.
Who was among the bottom?
James Buchanan, the 15th president, took the bottom spot at No. 44 with a score of 227. His highest-scoring characteristics were international relations and administrative skills, both a 30.5. But he scored lowest on crisis leadership, with a 16.1.
He was in office immediately before the Civil War but “grasped inadequately the political realities of the time,” according to the White House Historical Association.
Scoring slightly better than Buchanan was Andrew Johnson at No. 43 with 230 points. The 17th president’s highest-scoring characteristic was also international relations with a 33.9. But he scored lowest for his relations with Congress, with a 15.2.
The Jacksonian Democrat with “pronounced states’ rights views” took office after Lincoln was assassinated and clashed with the Republican-controlled Congress over Reconstruction following the Civil War. In 1868, he became the first president to be impeached.
Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, came in at No. 42 with a score of 312. He scored highest for his economic management, 37.3, and lowest for pursuance of equal justice for all, with a 23.
Taking office in 1853, Pierce hoped to “ease the divisions that led the the Civil War” by hearing the recommendations of his southern advisers,” the White House archives say. But his policies “hastened the disruption of the Union.”
Also among the bottom five presidents were Donald Trump with a score of 312 and William Henry Harrison, who only served for 31 days before he died in office, with a score of 354.
How did living former presidents do?
Obama, the nation’s first Black president, ranked the highest among living former presidents at No. 10.
His highest score was in the pursuance of equal justice for all category, with a score of 78.2, and his lowest score was for relations with Congress, with a 46.9
Bill Clinton ranked the second highest in this group, coming in 19th overall with a score of 594. The 42nd president, the second to be impeached, scored highest for economic management with a 73.6 and lowest for moral authority with a 30.
Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president, ranked at No. 26 with a score of 506. Pursuing equal justice for all was his highest-scoring characteristic, with a 72. His lowest was economic management with a 37.8.
George W. Bush at No. 29 with a score of 495. He scored highest for crisis leadership with a 54.6 and lowest for economic management and international relations, both with a 42.2.
In last among living former presidents was Donald Trump, the third president to be impeached and the only to be impeached more than once, ranking 41st of 44. His highest score was for public persuasion with a 43.9 and his lowest was for moral authority with an 18.7.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Who are the best and worst presidents? How historians ranked them in new C-SPAN survey."
